Tag Archives: forgive

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” Luke 6:37-38, NIV

You can’t judge a book by its cover, as the saying goes, yet we do it everyday. It’s human to take another’s outward appearance and instantly believe we know their circumstances. That unkempt man over there must be a homeless beggar; the woman in the nice business attire must be on her way to work. In reality, that unkempt man may the president of a bank returning from volunteering to repair homes for the elderly. The woman may be wearing a donated suit and going on her first job interview after years of being homeless.

And that’s the danger of judging and condemning others. We don’t know what someone has been through or is currently going through. By judging them or condemning them, we actually bring judgment and condemnation on ourselves. Our output dictates our input. If you spend your time judging and criticizing others, you probably receive a fair amount of judgment and criticizing in your life. The box or category in which you place others will often turn out to be the box or category in which you are placed. If someone’s constant critical judgment of you hurts your feelings, then know your constant critical judgment hurts others as well.

Don’t stay caught in a vicious cycle. If you are tired of being criticized and judged, stop criticizing and judging others. Forgive those who have hurt you and start this day anew, free from the yoke weighing you down. Start dispensing love, encouragement and acceptance to all and the same shall be extended to you.